Crossword Dictionary

shy 

diffident, shy, timid, unsure - a 
lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man" 

wordplays

Making small talk is not much fun for a shy person. Shy means being nervous or reserved around other people, especially in a social situation.

Someone who's extremely shy might blush or stammer when talking to a group of people. Shy can also mean "tending to avoid," like when someone is "camera shy," or if they "shy away" from being straightforward. The Old English root scÄ“oh, "easily frightened," originally only referred to a horse, and came from a Germanic root meaning "scare."

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etymology

Middle English shei, "easily frightened or startled," from late Old English sceoh "timid, easily startled," from Proto-Germanic *skeukh(w)az "afraid" (source also of Middle Low German schüwe, Dutch schuw, German scheu "shy;" Old High German sciuhen, German scheuchen "to scare away"). Cognates outside Germanic are uncertain, unless perhaps in Old Church Slavonic shchuti "to hunt, incite." Italian schivare "to avoid," Old French eschiver "to shun" are Germanic loan-words.

The meaning "shrinking from contact with others, difficult of approach because of timidity" is by c. 1600. The meaning "lacking, short of" is from 1895, American English gambling slang. As the last element of a compound (gun-shy, etc.) "frightened, averse, reluctant," by 1849.

etymonline